Rotary mechanism



April 17,- 1934. v||. F, vlcKERs ROTARY MECHANISM A Filed Feb. 25. 19292 Sheets-Sheet 1 /Wnf/ffar Har April 17, 1934.

H. F. VICKERS ROTARY MECHANISM Filed Feb'. 25. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Patented Apr. 17, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT'- OFFICE l Claim.

This invention has to do with a rotary mechanism and it is a generalobject of the invention to provide a mechanism particularly useful forhandling or pumping fluid. y The present inventionrelates to a plungertype of rotary mechanism for handling fluid. The mechanism of theinvention is capable of operating either as a pump or as a motor. Themechanism is especially useful as a variable capacity pump, andtherefore I will describe it in detail as a pump, it being understoodthat the term pump is not to be construed as a limitation upon the useof the invention, as it is equally capable of operationA as a motor.

It is a general object of the present invention to provide a simplified,improved, and commercially practical construction and arrangement ofparts in a mechanism of the character inentioned.

A further object of the inventionis to provide an improved, effective,and inexpensive construction for effecting' control or regulation of thecapacity of the mechanism.

Another object of the invention vis to provide improvements in therelationing of the valve mechanism to the cylinder and piston mechanismswhereby the fluid is handled in an efiicient, dependable manner. l

lt is another object of the invention to provide improvements in themounting and arrangement ci the rotor or rotating element within thehouslng. r

A further object of the invention is to provide various improvedfeatures of construction whereby the mechanism is made inexpensive ofmanufacture, emcient in operation, and suitable for commercial use.

The various objects and features of the invention will be best and morefully understood from the following detailed description of a typicalform and application of the invention, through-` out which descriptionreference will be had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an end view of the device provided pistons and the controlmechanism. `Fig. 4 is a detailed sectional view taken through the valvemechanism, being a view taken as indicated by (Cl. 10S-161) line 4-4 onFig. 2, and Fig. 5 is a detailed transverse sectional view taken throughthe uid feed mechanism being a view taken as indicated by line 5-5 onFig. 2.

The mechanism provided by this invention includes, generally, a housingA, a rotor B operable in the housing and including a plurality ofcylinders, plunger's C operable in the cylinders of the rotor andadapted to be vcarried around with the rotor, valve means D forcontrolling the ow of fluid to and from the cylinders of the rotor, anadjustable operating member ,E for actuating the plungers, and controlmeans F for the operating member E.

The housing A, which is the stationary or xed element ofthe mechanism,formsa carrier and casing for the various other parts ofthe mechanism.The housing includes, generally, an annular body within which the rotoroperates, and end plates ll and 12 which close the ends of the body.

In the construction illustrated the end plate 11 is formed integral withone end of the `body while the end plate l2 is detachably connected tothe other end ofthe body by means of cap screws 14. The end 12 of thebody has a central or hub f extension 15 which carries the valve means Dand various other parts as will be hereinafter described. Further, inthe mechanism shown there is an auxiliary iluid feeding means C-icarried by the hub extension 15 of the end 12. In practice the housingis usually mounted stationary on a suitable support .and therefore itsexterior is provided with suitable mounting brackets 1'7.

The rotor i3 is a revolvingv element carried in the housing A on a shaft18. The rotor is xed on the shalt 18 and includes a cylinder b lock 19operating within the body 10 of the housing, and an extension on one endof 'the cylinder block extending into the hub part 15 of the end 12. Thecylinder block 19 is provided with a plurality of radially disposedopenings or cylinders 21. cylinders are arranged symmetrically aroundthe central axis of the vrotor as shown throughout the drawings. Theextension v20 of the rotor .rangedadjacent the outer end of theextension' TheI . 100 joins one end of the cylinder block 19 and ex- 20.In the preferred construction I use ball bearings in mounting the shaftin the housing. The shaft 18 extends into the housing 'through the end11 and projects through the end 12 into the fluid feed means G. Asuitable packing gland 24 is provided around the shaft 18 at the endplate 11 and a suitable packing gland 25 is provided around theextension of the'shaft at the means G.

The plungers C are slidably carried the cylinders 21 of the block 19. Inthe preferred construction the cylinders 21 are provided with packingmeans 26 to make fluid tight connections between the plungers andcylinders.

The valve means D provided for controlling the ow-of uid to and from thecylinders 21 includes, generally, an inlet valve 29 and an outlet valve30 Iin connection with each cylinder. In the arrangement shown-anannular groove 32 is provided in the exterior of the rotor extension 20to be in constant register with a supply p ort 31 formed in the hubextension 15.. A port 33 extends from each cylinder into the extension20 where it is connected with the groove 32. Intake valves 29 arearranged in the connections between the .ports 33 and grooves 32 andseat outwardly so that they are normally held closed by the action ofcentrifugal force. In practice springs 35 may be arranged behind thevalves 29, as illustrated in the drawings. The outlet valves 30' arear,- ranged in openings which connect the ports 33 with `an opening 36extending longitudinally vthrough the shaft 18. The valves 30 preferablyseat outwardly so that they are seated by centrifugal force. In practicesprings 37 may be arranged back of the valves, as shown in the drawings.

The operating member E', in accordance with this invention, is anannular member arranged within the body 19 of the housing around the fcylinder block 19. The operating member fits loosely or freely in thebody and is sufficiently large to be spaced a substantial distance fromthe under them during operation, forming an oilv wedge or Iilm. In orderthat the shoes may have ionger than their rear' or trailing ends.

The member E iswmounted in the housing so that it is normally heldstationary during operaf tion of the mechanism and is adjustable'orshiftable from 4a position where it is concentric with the rotor and 'aposition where itis eccentric to the rotor. In accordance with thepresen-t invention the member E is held at' diametrically opposite sidesso that it is movable about an axis offset from that of the rotor. Inthe arrangement shown in the drawings the member E is held -at one sideby a pivot pin 44 which extends between the end plates 11 and 12 of thehousing and is -side byV thebontrol means F. The control means F isoperable to move said last-mentioned side of this action, their forwardor leading ends are,

n engaged and held at the diametrically opposite cylinders, andtherefore without pumping action, whereas when the member E is eccentrictothe rotor, as shown in Fig. 3, theplungers are caused to reciprocatein the cylinders of the rotor, causing positive pumping action.`

The control means F, provided for adjusting the position of the member Eand for holding the member E in adjusted position, may comprise a.suitable connection between the member E of the housing and a means foractuating or vary- -ing such connection 4:from the exterior of the tendsinto the housing through an opening 51 in 90 the body of the housing, `ascrew 52 is provided on the inner end of the stem to operate in a block53, anda. link connection 54 is provided between the block 53 and themember E. The stem 50 is rotatably carried in the opening 51 and is 95adapted to be rotated from the exterior of the housing by a hand crank55 or any other suitable means.- The screw 52 is threaded in the block53 so that rotation of the screw causes movement of the block. The linkconnection- 54 is pivotally 100 connected to the block 53 and to a lug56 project- Y ing outwardly from the member E at' a point diametricallyopposite the pivotal connection between the member E and housing. Theconstruction just described is clearly shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

The uid feeding means G is provided to feed fluid, say, for instance,oil, to the supply port 31,

v above described, under pressure so that the fluid will properly feedto the cylinders when the mechanisni is operated at high speed. Thismeans may be of various constructions and may be arranged inthemechanism in various manners. In the form oi the invention shown thismeans is in they nature of 'a gear pump including two gears 66 and 61carried in a gear case 62 applied to the outer end of the hubextensionl15. The shaft 18 projects from thc'hub extension 1.5 into thegear case 62 to drive the gear 60. The gear case is provided with aninlet port 64 through 120 .which fluid is delivered to the gears 60 and61 and is provided with outlet port 65 which communicates with the port31 in thehub extension 15. With this arrangement, the gear pump operateswhenever the shaft 18 is rotated. The gear 125 pump operates to deliverduid under .pressure to the valve mechanism so that the fluid willeffectively follow the action of the mechanism even at high speeds.

rThe portion of the shaft 18 that extends into 130- the gear case 62 issurrounded by the packing means 25 carried by the casing 62. In thepreferred arrangement the opening 36 in the shaft, to which the uid isdelivered by the pumping action of the plungers in the cylinders,extends to the end 'of the shaft carried in the case 62. A delivery pipev6'? may be arranged in communication with the opening 36, as shown inFig. 2 of -the drawings. 1

From the foregoing description it is believed 140 that the operation ofthe device will be fully understood. When the mechanism is operated,that is when the shaft 18 is rotated and the member E is set eccentricto the rotor, fluid, say, for instance, oil, admitted to the port 64 isdelivered 145 to the port '65 under pressure so that it enters -thecylinders-through the intake valves-29 and .is distributed from thecylinders through the Athe cylinders will depend upon the eccentricityof the. member E with reference to the rotor, this being under controlthrough the means F.

The present invention is concerned with the general arrangement and`combination of parts above set forthand not with improved constructionsor features embodied in specific parts. For example, the valve mechanismset forth is fully set forth and claimed in my U. S. Patent No.1,910,581, entitled Valve means for pump, or the like, of May 23, 1933.

The shoes operating in the member E are fully set forth and claimed inmy co-pending application entitled Construction for rotary compressor,or the like, filed Feb. 25, 1929, Serial No.

- 342,604, while other subject matter that I have mentioned is set forthand claimed in my U. S. Patent No. 1,878,736, entitled High speed pump,of Sept. 20, 1932.

Having described only a typical, preferred form of my invention, I donot wish to limit myself to the specific details set forth, but wish toreserve to myself any changes or variations that may appear to thoseskilled in the art or fall. within the scope of the following claim.

Having described my invention, I claim:

In a rotary pump, a casingf including two sections each including an endplate and a central tubular extension forming a bearing carrier, therebeing an annular part projecting from the peripheral portion of one ofthe end plates, said annular part being joined to the other end plate,and one of the central tubular extensions having a chamber toaccommodate a valve mechanism and having a fluid passage communicatingwith the chamber, a shaft extending through the casing and having a uidpassage in it, bearings in the tubular extensions supporting. the shaft,a

-block on .the shaft to operate between the end plates and havingradially disposed cylinder openings and having an axial extensionentering said chamber and having fluid passages communicatingv with thecylinder openings, valve means'carried by the extension of theblockeontrolling communication between the passage therein and thepassage in'the shaft and the passage communicating with the chamber,plungers operable in the cylinder openings, a ring surrounding the blockand located between the end plates and within the said annular part,means pivotally connecting the ring andthe casing at a point adjacentsaid annular part and on an axis parallel with that of the shaft,.meansengaging the ring at a point removed from the pivotal connection andextending to the exterior of the casing operable from. the exterior ofthe casing to control the position of the ring Within the casing, andbearing shoes on the plungers slidably operating on the interior of thering.

HARRY F. VICKERS.

